The invention generally relates to woven fastener products for use in hook-and-loop fastening and the like and to methods of their manufacture.
Woven fastener products include a fabric base from which an array of tiny fastener elements extend. The fastener elements are manufactured by projecting loops of yarns from the fabric base during the weaving process. Loops of multifilament yarns can function as female fastening elements. In other cases, loops of monofilament yarns can be cut and/or heated, after weaving, to produce male fastener elements having, for example, hook or mushroom shapes.
To form a closure, male fastener elements engage overlying female fastener elements. Certain fastener product have arrays that include both male and female fastener elements and thus can self-engage.
A woven fastener product is provided that includes an array of male fastener elements and an array of female fastener elements extending from a common fabric base and separated in the warp direction.
In one general aspect of the invention, a woven fastener product is featured that includes a fabric base having ground yarns including warp yarns and filling yarns that extend respectively in warp and filling directions. The woven fastener product, in the warp direction, has separate functional regions. The functional regions have respective fastener element arrays that include a plurality of rows of fastener elements. The fastener elements are yarns of the fabric base that project from a surface of the fabric base in selected locations. A first functional region includes a plurality of rows of loop-engaging fastener elements and is substantially free of loop fastener elements. A second functional region includes a plurality of rows of loop fastener elements and is substantially free of loop-engaging fastener elements.
Embodiments of this principle may include one or more of the following features.
The loop fastener elements are multi-filament yarns that extend across the warp direction of the woven fastener product, project from the fabric base at selected locations in the second functional region, and function as ground yarns of the fabric base in a region free of loop fastener elements. Preferred embodiments of this feature include one or more of the following. The region free of loop fastener elements is the first functional region. The fabric base includes a first fabric layer and a second fabric layer. The multi-filament yarns extend between and hold together the first fabric layer and the second fabric layer in the region free of loop fastener elements.
The loop-engaging fastener elements are monofilament yarns that project from the fabric base at selected locations in the first functional region, the monofilament yarns extend in a warp direction of the product and function as ground yarns of the fabric base in a region free of loop-engaging fastener elements. Preferred embodiments of this feature include one or more of the following. The region free of loop-engaging fastener elements is the second functional region. The fabric base includes a first fabric layer and a second fabric layer. The monofilament yarns extend between and hold together the first fabric layer and the second fabric layer in the region free of loop-engaging fastener elements.
The first functional region and the second functional region are separated in the warp direction by a region free of fastener elements. A preferred embodiment of this feature is that the region free of fastener elements includes multi-filament ground yarns that form loop-engaging fastener elements in the first functional region and monofilament ground yarns that form loop fastener elements in the second functional region.
The functional regions extend in the filling direction substantially across the width of the fastener product. The rows of fastener elements extend in the filling direction. The rows of fastener elements include more than two fastener elements. The fastener element arrays include more than two rows of fastener elements. The base fabric is a webbing having a thickness of at least 0.030 inches and a tensile strength in the warp direction of the webbing of at least 300 pound per lineal inch of width of the webbing. The loop-engaging fastener elements are hook elements.
The sides of the fastener product extending in the warp direction include integral edge portions that are enlarged, in cross-section, relative to a main body of the fabric base to serve as load-dissipating structures. A preferred embodiment of this feature is that the edge portions are woven tube structures.
At least some of the ground yarns are activated adhesive yarns that anchor the fastener elements to the woven base. Preferred embodiments of this feature include one or more of the following. The activated adhesive yarns are comprised of a heat-activatable substance. The activated adhesive yarns are comprised of a solvent-activatable substance.
The woven fastener product is in the form of a watch band. Preferred embodiments include one or more of the following. The watch band includes a region free of fastener elements adjacent one of the functional regions. The region free of fastener elements is suitable for attaching a timepiece thereto. A first end of the watch band is attached to a buckle. The buckle is constructed such that an opposite end of the watch band extends therethrough. The watch band is bent around the buckle to overlay the first functional region with the second functional region.
In another general aspect of the invention, a method of manufacturing a woven fastener product is featured. The woven fastener product includes a fabric base having ground yarns including warp yarns and filling yarns extending respectively in warp and filling directions. The woven fastener product, in the warp direction, has a first functional region separated from a second functional region. The functional regions have respective fastener element arrays that include a plurality of rows of fastener elements, the fastener elements extending from a surface of the fabric base. The method includes the following steps: projecting multi-filament yarns of the fabric base from the surface of the fabric base in selected locations in the second functional region to form an array of loop elements; projecting monofilament yarns of the fabric base from the surface of the fabric base in selected locations in the first functional region; and cutting the monofilament yarns projecting from the surface of the fabric base in the first functional region to form an array of loop-engaging elements being substantially free of loop elements.
Among other advantages, the woven fastener product provides separate regions of hook and loop elements that extend from a common fabric base making the product particularly suitable for applications, such as watch bands and sandal straps, that self-engage. Both the hook and loop regions are integrally formed with the fabric base. Thus, it is not necessary to separately attach individual hook fastener strips and loop fastener strips to a common fabric. This eliminates an expensive and difficult operation (e.g. sewing) and can improve the appearance and performance of the final product. For example, puckering is avoided, that can often occur in the sewing process, due to differential shrinkage of the separate components. Puckering can mar the appearance and sometimes compromises the function of the final product.
In some cases, the common fabric base is a webbing having strength suitable for use in load bearing applications. Additionally, the edges of the fastener products can be made relatively soft to the touch, thus making the product desirable for applications involving frequent handling or direct contact with flesh. Furthermore, the fabric base may have a flexible and/or soft texture because fastener elements are anchored without coating the backside of the product with a binder material which imparts roughness and stiffness to the base.
In an advantageous embodiment, monofilament loop rows are sized and positioned to define pin-receiving sleeves for mounting a device such as a watch by use of customary mounting pins of the body of the device.